Nearly four years after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrainian radio stations continue to operate just a few dozen kilometres from the front line despite daily bombardments and power cuts. In the eastern Donbass region, the northeastern city of Kharkiv and the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, broadcasts occasionally manage to reach territories occupied by the Kremlin. These stations have one mission: to provide reliable information to civilians overwhelmed by Russian disinformation.
“Whenever the Russians occupy a territory, they immediately cut off Ukrainian television and radio and replace them with their propaganda,” explained Viktoriia Yermolaieva, editor-in-chief of Kyiv-based Hromadske Radio, which has teams in the Donbass that broadcast into areas near the front line. The situation is similar in Kharkiv, a city just 40 kilometres from the Russian border that is targeted daily by Russian missiles. “The first thing the occupying forces do in Ukraine is impose their own media outlets and radio broadcasts,” Yevhen Streltsov, director and editor-in-chief of the local station Nakypilo, told RSF.
Broadcast towers in Ukraine have been bombed and studios have been occupied as the Kremlin has systematically targeted the country’s media infrastructure. Hromadske Radio has notably paid a heavy price — since February 2022, nine of its transmitters have been destroyed or seized, all located along the front line or in Donbass cities now under occupation, such as Mariupol, Lysychansk and Starobilsk. Since 2022, RSF has recorded at least 25 Russian attacks on Ukrainian broadcast towers.
Despite these material losses and safety risks, Ukrainian radio stations keep broadcasting. In Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv and the Donbass, the stations Radio Maximum, Nakypilo and Hromadske Radio air daily news shows for residents in areas close to the front line and for Ukrainians living under occupation.
“These local Ukrainian radio stations play a crucial role in providing reliable, independent information to people living near the front line, especially when electricity is cut off or the internet is no longer working. By crossing the front line despite the risks, they offer a gateway to reliable information for people living in occupied territories. Their work must be recognised and supported financially in the long term.
Broadcasting at all costs
The work of these radio stations has profoundly changed since the large-scale invasion in 2022. Memories of the first months remain vivid. “We worked in basements, corridors, and bomb shelters. We couldn’t stop, because we had a responsibility,” explained Viktoriia Yermolaieva of Hromadske Radio. In neighbourhoods of Kyiv and cities in the Donbass, entire residential buildings gathered around a single radio set to hear updates on evacuation routes, the advances being made by the Russian army, and access to humanitarian aid, the journalist recalled. “That experience prepared us for the future,” she said. As energy outages continue, Ukrainian radio stations continue to play a key role in keeping the nation informed. “A battery-powered radio becomes the only source of information when there is no electricity. Without reliable information, panic spreads easily, so to counter this, we provide verified facts,” Yevhen Streltsov told RSF from Kharkiv.
Crossing the occupation line over the airwaves
Just a few dozen kilometres from the occupied zones, these stations are in a constant technical battle to ensure their signal is heard. Vladimir Putin’s Russia jams their broadcasts, blocks frequencies and seizes equipment left behind. Radio Maximum now has only one transmitter left in Zaporizhzhia, a city around 20 kilometres from the front line. The other two, located in Tokmak and Dniprorudne — cities now under Russian occupation — have been lost. “They stole all our equipment. And they are broadcasting on the frequencies we used to use,” lamented Erik Brynza, the station’s editor-in-chief. Nevertheless, the signal still gets through thanks to the Zaporizhzhia transmitter. “Our transmitter is powerful enough to reach these regions,” explained Erik Brynza.
Some of these stations’ programmes are specifically designed for people living under occupation, and therefore provide information on how to evacuate, how to get help, and how to rebuild a life elsewhere. “This is vital information,” emphasised Erik Brynza. “We provide verified and measured information, without causing panic but without offering false hope where there is none,” added Viktoriia Yermolaieva.
Listening to these broadcasts often has to be done in secret, as it can lead to arrest, and audiences are impossible to measure. Yet the stations know they are being listened to, thanks to the occasional messages they receive on social media or via email. “They still listen to Ukrainian radio to compare it with what Russian propaganda is saying,” explained Erik Brynza. At times, accounts confirm that the airwaves do cross the line of occupation. Former Ukrainian prisoners have reported hearing Hromadske Radio while in captivity. Among them are Stanislav Aseyev, a Ukrainian journalist released in 2019, and Maksym Butkevych, co-founder of Hromadske Radio and a Ukrainian prisoner of war freed in autumn 2024. Maintaining a link with the occupied territories remains a priority for the radio broadcasters interviewed by RSF. “Living within the Russian information space is extremely difficult. Until the very end, we will keep speaking to them,” promised Viktoriia Yermolaieva.
